alue. We do not hear of his having dragged
off any prisoners, or inflicted any punishment on the country for its
rebellion. Even the tribute is not said to have been increased.

There is nothing surprising in the fact that, when once Persia took
resolutely in hand the subjugation of the revolted province, a few
months sufficed for its accomplishment. The resources of Persia were out
of all comparison with those of Egypt; alike in respect of men and of
money, there was an extreme disparity. What had protected Egypt so long
was the multiplicity of Persia's enemies, the large number of wars that
were continually being waged and the want of a bold, energetic, and
warlike monarch. As soon as the full power of the vast empire of the
Achaemenidae was directed against the little country which had detached
itself, and pretended to a separate existence, the result was certain.
Egypt could no more maintain a struggle against Persia in full force
than a lynx could contend with a lion. But while all this is indubitably
true, the end of Egypt might have been more dignified and more
honourable than it was. Nekht-nebf, the last king, was a poor specimen
of the Pharaonic type of monarch. He had none of the qualities of a
great king. He did not even know how to fall with dignity. Had he
gathered together all the troops that he could anyhow muster, and met
Ochus in the open field, and fallen fighting for his crown, or had he
even defended Memphis to the last, and only yielded himself when he
could resist no longer, a certain halo of glory would have surrounded
him. As it was, Egypt sank ingloriously at the last--her art, her
literature, her national spirit decayed and almost extinct--paying, by
her early disappearance from among the nations of the earth, the penalty
of her extraordinarily precocious greatness.

[Illustration: MAP OF THE FAYOUM SHOWING THE BIRKET-EL-KEROUN AND THE
ARTIFICIAL LAKE 'MOERIS'.

LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN. PATERNOSTER SQUARE. E.C.]

INDEX.

A

Aahmes I., 152
"Aa-khepr-ka-ra, Abode of," 168
"Abode of Aa-khepr-ka-ra," 168
Abraham, deceit of, 127, 129
Abraham in Egypt, 125
Abyssinia, rainfall in, 113
Alliance with Babylon and Lydia, 371
Amasis, prosperity under, 367
Amenemhat I., 101
Amenemhat I., hunting prowess of, 103
Amenemhat III., 109
"Amenemhat the Good," 116
Amenemhat's Labyrinth, 121
Amenemhat's Reservoir, 118
Amenhotep II., conquests of, 206
Amenhotep II., cruelty of, 207
Amen